Play! Pokémon faces backlash for EU International Championships registration

Play! Pokémon, the arm of The Pokémon Company International that operates the competitive scenes for both the Video Game Championship and Trading Card Game, is facing community backlash over how it handled registration for the upcoming  European International Championships (EUIC).

The event is set to take place from April 22-24, but many players from both the VGC and TCG community were unable to register due to a number of factors. Not only is the total number of registrants capped at an undisclosed number, but the announcement that registration would be open came hours after it had already filled up.

Register for the Pokémon Europe International Championships!
#PokemonVG – https://t.co/glkE8MNab2 (Seniors & Juniors Open)#PokemonTCG – https://t.co/moevlBxdko (Seniors & Juniors Open)#PokemonGO – https://t.co/wVWiiMNUoH #PokkenTournamentDX – https://t.co/Evf8TTIJab pic.twitter.com/YqVpLwMKVy

— Play Pokémon (@playpokemon) March 28, 2022

Players left out of Pokémon International Championships

Several players made their frustrations clear on Twitter regarding the way Play! Pokémon handled registration. This included Beastcoast player, VGC veteran and frequent caster Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng. He called out the lack of communication regarding both the number of available spots and the heads up on when registration would open.

Furthermore, he pointed out the issue with capping the number of players below 400. In a tournament with 400 or more players, up to 128 competitors would receive Championship Points that could help them qualify for the World Championships.

“It’s also frustrating to see the tournament capped at such a low number, especially considering the fact that 400+ players would result in Championship Points extending down to the top 128,” Cybertron wrote. “Qualifying for Worlds this year is already tough if you’re starting with few points.”

It's baffling to me that there was no announcement regarding when registration for EUIC, one of the largest Pokemon tournaments of the year, would open.

There was also no info about player caps/number of spots available.

I really do hope another round of sign-ups open later.

— Aaron "Cybertron" Zheng (@CybertronVGC) March 28, 2022

Meanwhile, defending EUIC VGC champion Flavio Del Pidio won’t be in attendance since registration opened and filled up while he was flying home from the Liverpool Regional Championships. He expressed frustration that Play! Pokémon didn’t hold registration until regional competitors had more time to return home from competing at another, less crucial tournament.

“I hope with all my heart they will add more places and warn before randomly opening registrations [sic], because this is a real injustice,” Del Pidio wrote on Twitter.

I couldn't register for the European championship, because I was on the flight back from Liverpool. I feel very sad, and I thank once again the excellent work of those who manage these things. I don't think it was difficult to give everyone time to come back from liverpool regio

— Flavio Del Pidio (@PadoVGC) March 29, 2022

Despite his hopes for more spots opening up through a second wave of registration, Play! Pokémon allegedly told TCG player and 2020 Oceania International Champion Nico Alabas that they have no plans to do so.

See you at NAIC (maybe) 🙂 pic.twitter.com/d8DDwoYCW9

— Nico Alabas (@carrypotter_1) March 29, 2022

The EUIC is important to players participating in the competitive Pokémon circuits because it is one of four regional events each season that brings together players from all over the world to compete at the highest level. These international tournaments also reward the largest amount of Championship Points and the most prize money.

However, the EUIC is even more important this year considering the 2022 season picks up where the 2020 season began, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since two International Championships were held in the first half of the postponed season, only the North American International Championships will follow the EUIC in June.

There has been no word on whether registration will be handled differently for the following International Championships.